Summary: "Princess Turandot". Carlo Gozzi, Turandot. Performance "Princess Turandot" (Vakhtangov Theatre)

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The plot of the fairy tale "Princess Turandot" Carlo Gozzi borrowed from the Azerbaijani poet of the XII century, who wrote in Persian. In 1712, the famous orientalist Petit de la Croix published a collection of Persian fairy tales, where it was first published. Later, she could be found in the collection of fairy tales "1001 Days" and "Fairy Cabinet". It was from these books that Gozzi took the plot for many of his works. Further in the article, the reader will be able to find its summary. "Princess Turandot" turned out to be a very attractive plot, giving life to the opera and theatrical production of the same name.

Proud beauty

Chinese Emperor Altoum decides to marry his daughter - Turandot. Her beauty is legendary, but she is even more famous for her distrust of the stronger sex. Convinced that men are deceitful and unable to truly love, she secretly vowed never to tie the knot.

In order not to upset her father with a direct refusal, she agrees to notify the whole world that she is looking for a groom. But the applicant for her hand and heart must pass the test - at the meetingOn the sofa of the wise men, the princess will guess three riddles. Anyone who cannot guess them will be beheaded. And only the one who gives three correct answers will be able to lead her down the aisle. Despite the obvious cruelty of the test, crowds of princes flowed to the emperor's palace, filled with a burning love for Turandot. Everyone who saw her portrait was forever pierced by Cupid's arrow.

Exiled Prince

At this time, another tragedy occurs in the neighboring kingdom: the Astrakhan king Timur with his wife and son Calaf are forced to flee from their own palace, pursued by the ferocious Sultan of Khorezm. Having captured the kingdom of Timur, he orders to kill him and his family.

The pursued manage to hide in Altoum's domain, but they have to lead a far from royal life. Prince Calaf takes on any menial work to feed himself and his parents. At the gates of Beijing, he accidentally meets his former teacher and tells him this sad story. As they pass by the emperor's palace, Calaf asks a passing man what kind of feast is being prepared outside its walls. But he replied that this was not at all a joyful event. This is preparation for the execution of another prince who did not answer Turandot's questions.

One glance at the portrait of Princess Calaf was enough to ignite a burning love for her, and he decides to also try his hand at this bloody competition.

Summary: Princess Turandot and her riddles

No matter how everyone persuaded the princesurrounding, he was adamant: either the princess will belong to him, or death by her hand. And now he is already standing in front of her in the meeting room of the sages. The daughter of the Chinese emperor came with her two slaves - Zelima and Adelma.

The latter, despite the fact that the prince does not name himself, immediately recognizes him as a servant in her father's palace. Since then, she has been in love with a young man and is now trying to turn Turandot against Calaf in order to get him for herself. But Zelima thinks he is more worthy than other applicants, and the princess herself seems to look at him more favorably. However, having guessed all the riddles, Prince Calaf Turandot simply infuriated. The inevitable marriage did not smile at her at all. Seeing the torment of his beloved, the prince proposed a new challenge: guess his name.

Wedding royal cortege

Princess Turandot is in despair. How can she find out the name of the mysterious person and emerge victorious from the trap that she set for herself? The insidious Adelma promises to help her. She visits the prince at night and tricks him into revealing her name.

The next morning Turandot solemnly reveals the prince's incognito. Calaf and all the others are heartbroken. He is preparing to accept death when the princess miraculously transforms and falls on his chest. It turns out that she immediately fell in love with him, afraid to admit it to herself. But the nobility of the young man conquered her. Emperor Altoum joyfully promised Adelma to return her kingdom to her so that she would not feel so deprived.

Opera by G. Puccini: summary

PrincessTurandot lived a rather active life for many centuries after its first appearance in a collection of Persian tales. The German playwright Schiller wrote a play of the same name. According to the romantic tradition, he deepened the image of the capricious princess by turning Carlo Gozzi's comedy into a drama. The game beginning has become dull, but the images have become much more prominent and more complex.

In the 19th century, the Italian composer Giacomo Puccini used Schiller's Turandot for one of his most beautiful operas. The libretto for it was composed by D. Adami and R. Simoni. They somewhat modified the interpretation of this tale, turning it into a real anthem of love. Adelma was named Liu, and in the opera her end is much more tragic.

Turandot, demanding that she give the name of the prince, threatens Liu with death, but the girl is adamant. When asked what gives her the strength to resist, Liu replies "Love" and stabs herself with a dagger. The amazed Turandot realizes that a similar feeling is creeping into her heart. The opera ends with a chorus praising love, life and the sun.

Italian maestro's swan song

"Princess Turandot" is an opera that stands apart in the work of the recognized master of this genre. Puccini in it moved away from the intimacy inherent in all his previous compositions. This is his last creation, and the composer was in a hurry, fearing that he would not have time to finish it. And so it happened - the most talented student of maestro F. Alfano finished writing Turandot. Until now, the opera is staged in hiseditorial.

Puccini slightly modified the plot of Gozzi's fairy tale. For example, the image of Adelma received a completely different interpretation. She became a devoted and loving Liu, ready to give her life for the sake of true love. Puccini accumulated all his composing genius to write amazingly beautiful music. “Let no one sleep” is her brightest example and the most demanded aria in the repertoire of many singers.

"Turandot" is now being staged on the world's leading stages, and it's safe to say that this is the best work of Puccini.

Interesting facts about opera

The premiere of the opera was conducted by A. Toscanini. In the middle of the third act, the maestro suddenly lowered his baton and the music stopped. Turning to the audience, the conductor said that it was at this point that the composer's pen stopped running over the music paper, and his heart stopped with it.

For a long time, the performance was banned from being staged in China - it was believed that China was not presented in the best light in it. In 1998, Z. Meta finally conducted Turandot in the Forbidden City. The production cost China $15 million.

Alfano's edition is considered not entirely successful, although it is the most performed. There are two more versions: L. Berio (2001) and Hao Weiya (2008).

Fateful Princess

Surprisingly, this fairy tale turned out to be the swan song not only of the Italian composer. The play "Princess Turandot" was the last staged during the life of the greattheater director E. Vakhtangov. It happened in 1922 at the Third Studio of the Moscow Art Theater.

By right, he is considered the best in the repertoire of the theater. At different times, such stars as Cecilia Mansurova, Marianna Vertinskaya, Lyudmila Maksakova, Boris Zakhava, Alexei Zhiltsov and many others played in it. The first performers were Cecilia Mansurova (Turandot) and Yuri Zavadsky (Kalaf). The performance "Princess Turandot" became the hallmark of the Vakhtangov Theater and determined all its further development. It can be said that this production gave birth to a new theatrical school based on Vakhtangov's concept of "holiday theater".

Tales of the 20th century

“Princess Turandot” (Vakhtangov Theatre) opened a window not only to new theatrical relations. In this production, the director applied the principles of an ironic fairy tale, without which the emergence of a new genre of literary fairy tale and its true adherent E. Schwartz would have been impossible.

In Vakhtangov's production, the actors played not the characters themselves, but the actors of the Venetian troupe. It turned out a kind of matryoshka. The rivalry between Turandot and Adelma was at the same time the struggle of two prima donnas for the heart of the hero-lover, Calaf. Unfortunately, this interpretation was gradually lost and later generations of viewers saw a completely different performance called "Princess Turandot".

The Vakhtangov Theater was the most visited place of the theater in Moscow, witnesses wrote that the audience climbed onto the backs of their seats with delight. Ironic mocking texts of interludes, a deliberate game using a simpleprops - all this created a carnival celebration on stage.

Hints and allusions

The actors' masks could be interpreted deeply symbolically. No wonder the theater has always had such an acutely social orientation. Recall Gogol's The Government Inspector. In Soviet times, when only unbridled love for the party could be directly expressed, such allegorical forms of art could only help to take the soul away.

Emperor Altoum is crazy about his daughter - a harmless affectionate old man. But in his country there are by no means gentle customs and rather cruel laws. The dumb sages of the Divan are officials from whom it is worth taking an example. With their main task - nodding in agreement all the time - they do an excellent job. In this fabulous country, everything is fine, everyone smiles and gently shakes hands with each other. But living there is uncomfortable and even scary. It is not surprising that this performance was once a phenomenal success.

Where can you meet Turandot today?

In 1991 the most prestigious theatrical award "Crystal Turandot" was established. The idea of its creation came to the mind of the producer Boris Belenky. The program document defines Moscow as the venue for the awards ceremony, as it is the theatrical pinnacle of Russia.

The highlight of this award is that the jury is made up of people who have nothing to do with the theater - writers, artists, musicians. That is why it is called independent. Many famous and beloved actors are the owners of "Crystal Turandot": I. Churikova, O. Efremov, O. Tabakov, M. Ulyanov and others.

The most famous fairy tale by K. Gozzi turned out to be very prolific for future generations. We hope this article helped you get to know its summary. "Princess Turandot" by Puccini, as well as the performance of the same name, will now be much clearer to you if you decide to visit an opera or theater.